In the early stages of developing processes for manufacturing semiconductor devices, large quantities of defective semiconductor structures are fabricated, tested and usually discarded. These discarded devices can represent a significant monetary drain on the development process. Of course, the primary goal is to develop manufacturing processes that produce structures with no defects. However, even some highly refined processes often produce structures that contain a few defective elements. If such partially defective structures could be salvaged, a significant savings may be achieved.
Specifically, in the semiconductor manufacturing field, data processing devices are often produced with semiconductor memories having some defective elements. These defective devices often represent significant overhead costs. More specifically, complex semiconductor memories with thousands of storage cells may be fabricated with some relatively small number of cells that are incapable of storing data bits in both binary states. For example, when testing semiconductor memories, fabricators often find some memory cells to be "stuck" in one of their stable states. Of course, a flawless memory cell is one that can store information in either one of two stable states, i.e., a binary "1" or a binary "0. " If one or only a few such memory cells are "stuck," the memory will usually be rejected. If this memory is embedded in a data processor die then that die may also be rejected. Consequently, those concerned with the development and manufacture of semiconductor devices, particularly complex data processors with embedded memory, have recognized that manufacturing yield may be significantly improved if these discarded memories could be recaptured.